"Apparently, we seek more readily and with more zeal what happened in other lands than to search for testimonies of sainthood in our own land."
-Monk Moise
(explaining an observation made by St. Dosoftei of Moldavia)
__________________________________________________________________________
There are Saints of Greece, of the Middle East, of Russia and Romania...
But how aware are we of the Saints in our own lands; of our great cloud of witnesses? Do we know the names and lives of those glorified here? And do we know the familiar places they spent their worldly sojourns?
Whether we come from the North or South, East or West, this land has been trod by the feet of God's Saints. On both North and South Continents, we find the sown Word of the Lord and native Orthodoxy planted. We discover a beautiful vine, bearing the fruit of the Saints.
+++
St. Arsenios of Paros said,
"The Church in the British Isles will only begin to grow when She begins to again venerate Her own Saints."
We too, find it profitable to call upon the Saints of our own earthly homeland. In God, they help us ascend to the Heavenly Homeland, starting in the here and now.
The harvest is plentiful. The work is not done. Even now there are Saints among us. May we ask them to pray for us, that we may be like them, as they are in God.